Correction required before you send an email to your legislators regarding voucher bills
Correction — New email link
One kind reader noticed a pretty important error in the pre-populated email link in the version I sent out late last night. Hmmm….maybe I needed sleep.
It erroneously said Kansans don’t want their public tax dollars going to public schools. That of course should say private schools. Here’s the new link. And I’ve included the entire newsletter with the corrected link below and it has been updated on the version that sits on the Substack website.
Sorry about that.
We stopped them once; we can do it again!
Remember that little celebration we had a few weeks back when the Education Savings Account voucher program failed in the Senate? Well, they are giving it another go under a new bill number — HB 2089.
They are also still trying to pass the expansion of the Tax Credit Scholarship voucher program in bill number SB 113 that didn’t make it to the floor for a vote after they tried to monkey with the funding required under the Gannon Supreme Court case.
In the essence of time and me getting some sleep, I’ll refer you to this summary from the Kansas Association of School Boards if you are wanting the details of what is in the latest versions of these voucher bills.
Both bills are holding K-12 funding and special education funding hostage so they can attempt to push through the vouchers that Kansans have overwhelmingly demonstrated they don’t want.
And these are still vouchers that:
divert public tax dollars to unregulated private schools and homeschools
contain no oversight and impose no standards upon schools or people taking Kansas tax dollars
contain no guardrails to ensure students receive an adequate education
allow private schools to pick and choose their students and counsel out struggling students
Take Action — everyone!
Everyone needs to take action. Now that we have bill numbers, we need you to send an email even if you’ve already sent one this week.
Have you been hesitant to reach out to friends? Let that hesitation end now.
We’ve seen what happens to the education budget in other states when these voucher programs take hold. They try to expand the program year after year and dollar after dollar will be drained from our public schools that 90% of Kansas kids rely upon.
Use this link for an example message to recruit friends to send emails. Brainstorm and contact as many people as you can think.
Click here to send a pre-populated email to your House Representative and Senator asking them to vote no on HB 2089 & SB 113. Find your legislators at ksleglookup.org. Click on their picture to find their contact info.
As always, please try to customize in your own words if you can.
If you are having trouble with the pre-populated link, click here for a copy & paste version.
Legislators need to stay strong!
With just two days left, some legislators are going to feel like they have no other option, but that is not the case. They can stand strong against vouchers and once and for all force leadership to bring a clean funding bill to the floor that:
abides by the Gannon settlement
fully funds special education
It is not hard to fund our schools when the state has a $3 billion surplus. We need legislators to do the right thing and support Kansas kids!